The Vernales section of primulas, correctly called section Primula, includes our beloved primrose, cowslip and oxlip, which are usually, but not always, pale yellow. There are also some bright pink species from further afield - not to mention the polyanthus hybrids, with appallingly vivid colours, fortunately kept away from us in municipal plantings in the middles of roundabouts.

Primula vulgaris subsp. sibthorpii is a variant of the primrose from Greece and further east, distinguished by some technical details, but in practice usually with bright pink flowers, sometimes purply red, white, or even yellow. Our stock is of a superb form with really bright pink flowers, an Archibald collection from the Caspian.